Demonstrators in Mogadishu in support of popular Somali PM Farmajo. Kampala accord is the wrong initiative for the nation and may escalate the crises deeper.

It's true that Kampala Accord was intended to be a breakthrough in resolving the deadlock and political bickering between President of Somalia and Speaker of the parliament but it also deepened the political impasse by creating unanticipated public outcry in Mogadishu and many cities around the world. The assumption that Somalis everywhere including Member of Parliaments will go along the whims and the desire of these leaders and their foreign sponsors is a mindboggling to think, such approach in fact contradicts the conceptual parameters of peace-building in a way that connects the security progress on the ground with the more profound political aspirations and desires of the masses What’s even more appalling about the Kampala Accord is that Somalia’s sovereignty is now transferred to IGAD’s head of states as validated by one of the clause in the agreement that “Both Government and Parliament shall work together with the international community to establish a roadmap with benchmarks, timelines and compliance mechanisms for the implementation of the priority task. Details of the mechanisms to be agreed by 20 August 2011” This is an infringement into the sovereignty of the nation by entrusting the TFI tasks to a foreign entities, countries that are members of IGAD with contrasting political interest on Somalia, this adds insult to an injury when the responsibility of establishing political roadmap for durable peace becomes the responsibility of the International Community, notwithstanding, the former Prime Minister and his cabinet have within sixty days developed a roadmap with unambiguous benchmarks and timelines for the country. Additionally, the accord requires IGAD head of states to constitute a political Bureau with oversight authority to oversee the performance of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions- the accord basically transfer authority of the TFI to neighboring countries with divergent interest. Apart from the fact that this clause puts Somalia into an informal trusteeship, and the devil is in the details, it is difficult to grasp the inclusion of such clause (that literally puts the nation under the authority of the International Community) into a reconciliation accord between two conflicting parties, the problem here is that the Great lake Regional Peace Initiative on Burundi vis-à-vis the Burundi peace process was dealt separately and negotiations were facilitated by none other than the elder statesman Nelson Mandela, a rather tedious process that took time. Another problem is the International Community is replicating peace-building initiatives applied in other countries when we know the crisis in Somalia is unique and requires its own prescription.It’s very clear to Somalis that both Speaker and the President are out of touch with Somalis and those who're catering to these mindless leaders couldn't envision what it would mean to dismiss the prime minister’s government. It’s true that since its inceptions TFG jockeyed around Prime Ministers without any backlash from the public, and this was true since most of these individuals who hold this post had very low public rating. The reason the current Prime Minister and his crew enjoyed high public ratings are “their can do attitude” and their success on the ground including turning the tides against Al-Shabab, they were also practical and always sought public consultation.It is the view of HOL editorial that the Kampala accord is the wrong initiative for the nation and may escalate the crises deeper as indicative of the outpouring opposition by the Somali people inside and outside of the country. Moreover, it is appalling that the International Community including the ICG for Somalia categorically advised the conflicting parties to abide by the TFI tasks as mandated by the charter, yet the Kampala accord under the auspices of H.E president Musoveni and Dr Mahiga calls for the resignation of the Prime Minister without due process as stipulated by the Transitional charter. It is our view the resignation of the Prime Minister as announced today will delay the reconciliation process as stipulated by D’jibouti peace process and will hinder the security progress made by the former prime Minister and his able ministers and it is our view that the Kampala Accord if it is implemented will back peddle whatever little progress made in the context of peace and security